Записи с меткой «party»

How To Use Your Blog to Market Your Business

Have you just started blogging? Or have you been blogging for a while? As you may already know, a blog is an excellent tool to let the world know about your business or your product, to connect with potential customers and promote your expertise. But how can you maximize your blog’s impact? Here are five tips to do just that:

• Blog Consistently. Many business owners get excited about blogging, post 3-6 times, and then promptly forget about the blog. I have seen many blogs that were started a year or two ago, have a grand total of five posts, and haven’t been updated since sometime last year.

To get the desired effect (search engine and human traffic), you need to update your blog on a regular basis. Search engines love new content and keep coming back to index it. Potential customers also like new content; it’s what keeps them coming back to read your blog.

• Use Your Blog For Branding. Your blog is an extension of your business, so make your blog have a look and feel that mirrors that of your business web site.

If your blog is hosted on the same domain as your web site, you should match the look and feel of your web site exactly. This will be more difficult to achieve if a third party provider hosts your blog. However, you should still aim to present the same brand image.

• Use Search Engine Optimization To Optimize Each Blog Post. The purpose of your blog is to get people who are in your target market to read your posts and enter your sphere of influence. Traffic from search engines does not cost any money, and it is a great way to get potential customers to your blog.

Treat each one of your blog posts as a separate file to be optimized for search engines. Use a keyword research tool to find phrases that are related to the main subject of the post, and weave them into the content of the post.

• Have A Special Offer On Your Blog. Do you offer a free special report? Do you offer a mini course as a bonus for new newsletter subscribers? Add the offer to your blog. This will transform people from casual surfers who just happened to find your blog to newsletter subscribers.

• Share Information About Your Events, Products and Seminars. You might think that everyone has already heard about your upcoming teleclass on life and work balance or your e-book about achieving financial success. Not so! The person reading your blog might be hearing about you for the very first time, so they have no idea about your teleseminars or products unless you specifically tell them.

Avoid overselling, as it will dramatically reduce the number of your blog readers. Do, however, let your blog readers know about your seminars and products. If you don’t tell them, nobody will.

A blog is an excellent tool to generate additional web site traffic, get new newsletter subscribers and sell more products. Use your blog to introduce potential customers to your business.

How to Create a Traditional Christmas Tree for Your Work Christmas Party

Putting together magnificent d?cor for a Christmas party is the easiest way to create that jolly atmosphere that Christmas brings. Adding a traditional Christmas tree to your d?cor will without doubt give that seasonal effect to the venue – just what you needed!

To create a traditional Christmas tree for your work Christmas party, you will require a traditional Christmas tree. The tree traditionally used is the Norway Spruce- a nice smelling spruce with elegant vertical foliage. This tree will keep if watered for the festive periods; however, it will drop many of its needles. An alternative is the rounded Fraser Fir  — a fruit smelling fir with soft foliage. These, unlike the spruce, often last longer than the Christmas period and can be planted afterwards if still small and alive.

Traditional Victorian decorations ranged from little ornaments and toys to ribboned bags of sweets and even sweetmeats!  Today, chocolates and sweets are still used on Christmas trees but usually the Children and adults get to them before Christmas is out. D?cor in the shape of toys can also be found in local markets mainly, but also department stores. Real silver d?cor and glass was used in the richer households, which has created the tradition of using silver decorations at Christmas time. Although not real silver, silver tinsel does look amazing on a Christmas tree and can be easily found on the high street for a much cheaper price than real silver!

Victorian women’s fine handcraft skills were often put to use as they created the delicate lace and silver bags for the sweets. Snowflake dollies and cotton wool angels will also made to adorn the tree. Although you may not be able to spend as much time as a Victorian lady making these d?cor, why not make a few paper decorations for the tree and buy some simple jewellery bags for the sweets. They will not only look lovely on the tree but will provide each guest with a little surprise present!

Further additions to Christmas trees have included various fruits, such as apples, an array of firmly attached candles and cinnamon – the smell of Christmas! Although candles are not permitted to be lit in most venues, you can put in lights in the shape of candles or unlit candles with lights cleverly positioned in order to create that half lit Christmas atmosphere. You can also add fake apples and sticks of real cinnamon, if you really want to be traditional.

If you interested in shared and exclusive work Christmas parties, have a look at www.christmascorporation.co.uk

India Paves the Way for Fast-Track Growth

The results of the recent Lok Sabha national elections in India are likely to have long lasting implications for the development of the country.

With the Congress Party winning all but an 11-seat majority, India finally has, for the first time in 20 years, a democratically elected government that has essentially a mandate to govern. With 261 seats, the Congress Party requires just another 11 seats to form a majority, and with plenty of allied parties wanting to lend a hand for the opportunity to govern, it can grab the chance to push through much-needed reform on its own terms.

This is in stark contrast to the previous two decades, where national political divisions resulted in a succession of often deeply divided coalition governments, and the consequent major adjustments, compromises or abandonment of many necessary reforms. The re-election of Manmohan Singh as prime minister as well is a sure sign that Indians require a strong government with a strong leadership to guide them. Dr. Singh’s reappointment marks the first time since 1961 that a sitting PM has been reinstated.

The importance of this victory by the Congress Party cannot be underestimated. With India in a literal state of emergency in 1991, the country has gradually clawed its way back from the brink of bankruptcy and economic chaos and into the 21st century. And who was the architects of all this? The Gandhi family – now with Sonia Gandhi as head of the Congress Party – who realized the need to bring into power respected economists and lawyers to drive the country away from its failed Soviet-era structures and into a more modern state. And who was charged with overseeing the economic redevelopment of the country at the time? Dr. Sing – then a respected international economist rather than a traditional politician, now a man on his second term as prime minister.

The Congress Party win is likely to accelerate India further along the pace of reform and redevelopment, and the election has also done much to clean out the old guard of “gangster” politicians, many of whom held seats while being held on convictions from murder to large scale fraud. In their place comes in a new breed of Indian politician, educated, increasingly in-tune with globalization, and willing to sacrifice to a life of struggle while helping shift the country along a new course.

Pro-business, pro-reform, many of the battles the Congress Party faces in its drive to upgrade and modernize India and its infrastructure will be hard fought. Old, minority interests, such as dealing with land reform in Mumbai, will be hard to win. However, India has voted, and how. A government mandate, and a unified party directed by economists and lawyers bent on legal reform are likely to have a huge impact in getting through legislation to open up to competition within India’s domestic markets, encourage foreign direct investment, deal with the legal and investment issues concerning infrastructure development, and place the nation on a fast track to reform much as China was able to achieve in the 1990s.

The implications are going to be huge.
 
This article was written by Chris Devonshire-Ellis for the blog 2point6billion.com.

Investable Surplus: Dealing With the Extra Bucks

So you made some extra cash in your first business. Planning to blow it all? Not a bad idea, but you could do better things with the money. Investable surplus is what remains after all liabilities have been taken care of and therefore could be ploughed back into the business. Growth and business expansion is impossible without timely reinvestment and hence, any investable surplus should be dealt with appropriately.

Depending upon the nature of the surplus, recurring or one time, one could utilize it in different ways:

Business cycles: Economic forecast are more often than not exaggerated and very rarely do the predicted boom phases last for long. You may need to hire a professional to help you analyze the market conditions. Also check whether the surplus is something that you could expect periodically or if it is a one time gain. Knowing this will help you plan better.

Operating surplus: Every business should maintain operating surplus for at least three months. This will help you tide over the difficulties of a particularly bad season, or any other budget constraint. So, when you come across some investable surplus, ensure that you are building or maintaining your operating surplus.

Taking care of other liabilities: Once they pay off outstanding loans, small business owners can concentrate on their future plans much better. Financial planning can be streamlined once the business is rid of excessive debt.

Improvements at work: Technological developments move rapidly enough to reduce what is latest today to obsolete tomorrow; use the surplus to update outmoded technology or install a new appliance. A part of the surplus could be shared with employees in the form of a bonus payment. Throw a party for them if you like! Compensating employees thus helps them enjoy work better.

Investment outlets: Money markets offer a great variety of products. To make the most of all the opportunities out there, get in touch with an asset management firm or financial advisor. They could customize your portfolio to suit your needs. Read our article on Asset Management for more. “An Introduction to Financial Products and Markets” by Lindsay Fell,

Business expansion: Contemplate this if you have been in the business for some time. The surplus from the existing business should now be directed towards some serious expansion. Consider a new location, maybe a new venture altogether. If you aren’t ready for another business yet, consider helping out someone who is, by becoming an angel investor. That way you ensure your involvement in an upcoming business without half the trouble of starting up! Get hold of “Successful Expansion for Small Businesses” by Danny Moss and Laurence Clark

A business is not likely to generate huge investable surplus in the first few months of existence. Patience and prudence are of key importance. Tempting as it may seem to fritter it away, such surplus is best utilized when deployed back in the business. After all, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing your money grow, right?